Exo-Mind (Earth-616)
The Exo-Mind created Ulluxy'l Kwan Tae Syn as its guardian, as per the wishes of the Elders, who apparently needed five such guardians to complete the ritual necessary for the crossing of dimensions. However, the Exo-Mind had no interest in the outcome of the Elder's efforts. It was more interested in the struggle for its own sake, so it sabotaged the ritual to tilt the odds against the Elders for no reason other than to make the outcome more interesting. The Bloodgem was hurled across time and space, arriving in the final stages of the already collapsing universe. The Bloodgem survived the death of its home reality and was released during the subsequent "Big Bang" of the prime dimension. Thousands of years before the modern day, the Bloodgem was one of many powerful gems brought by extra-terrestrial scientists to the planet Kree-Lar. The scientists had discovered an immense stone of tremendous power, which they had split in half and dubbed the Alpha and Omega Stones. The energies released in the split killed thousands, but drew the attention of more advanced races, who came to Kree-Lar to investigate the energies. The visiting races each brought their own artifacts, seeking a common link. They found that link upon the realization that all the artifacts brought were remnants of the Big Bang. All the artifacts were joined together into the Lifestone Tree, and their combined power was used to advance the evolutionary traits of eight chosen representatives of their races, who became the Chosen Eight of Fate. These Eight protected the galaxy for two hundred years until eventually breaking up. The Lifestones were taken from Kree-Lar to prevent intergalactic pirates from stealing them, but the mission was discovered and the ark carrying the Lifestones was attacked. Its warp drive created an implosion, creating a fissure in space which thrust the Lifestones to the far corners of the galaxy. One spatial anomaly opened on the fringes of Earth's solar system, and a number of the Lifestones fell to Earth, the Bloodstone being one of them. The Bloodgem arrived on Earth, and its utilization allowed it to be located anew by the Exo-Mind. The Exo-Mind observed the evolution of humanity through disinterested eyes, requiring a host whose existence revolved around a single purpose. The man who would become Ulysses Bloodstone was born to a small nomadic tribe who occupied Northern Vanaheim, which would later be called Scandinavia. Growing into one of the tribe's foremost hunters, he one night observed a meteorite crashing to the Earth, approximately on the year 8250 BCE. He directed his subsequent hunting endeavors in that direction, and tailed behind a cloaked figure (Ulluxy'l), who led Ulysses into the cavern which housed his advanced citadel. Leading Ulysses to the altar of the Bloodgem, the Exo-Mind empowered the nomad. Ulysses returned to his tribe, inviting them to be endowed with the same superhuman strength that he had been given, but the Exo-Mind instead absorbed the life energies of Ulysses' entire tribe, enraging him. Upon attacking the Bloodgem, the artifact exploded into multiple fragments, one of which embedding itself in Ulysses' chest. The nomad would one day become Ulysses Bloodstone, an immortal adventurer whose exploits last for nearly 10,000 years. Exo-Mind allegedly created or directed a large number of monsters for Bloodstone to fight over the years, all to keep him occupied from accomplishing his ultimate goal, slaying Ulluzy'l and avenging his tribe, thus retaining him as Exo-Mind's host indefinitely. In addition, the Exo-Mind inhibited Bloodstone's ability to cope in the abstract and inhibited his reasoning, so that he would never suspect the true reason he had been chosen to receive the power of the Bloodgem. Eventually, in the modern era, the Exo-Mind decided it wished to experience death through Bloodstone, since its own life was eternal. At the same time it decided, having experienced all it could through innocent eyes, it wished a new perspective. To this end, the Exo-Mind organized the Conspiracy to usurp Bloodstone's gem. They would gain its power by collecting the many Bloodstone fragments in exchange for providing the Exo-Mind this new perspective. One day, through intense meditation, Ulysses came to understand the existence of the Exo-Mind and its threat to humanity. Ulluxy'l was a member of the Conspiracy, but the rest of the group eventually decided to replace him with Centurius, who slew the demon. The Conspiracy would also succeed in capturing Ulysses and extracting the Bloodstone fragment from his chest, killing him. The Conspiracy believed they would be granted powers similar to Ulysses by the Exo-Mind, but the entity double-crossed them and absorbed their life energies, then used its power to cement the Bloodstone fragments to creat a crystalline form for itself. The Exo-Mind then sought to absorb the collective life energies of the entire planet. However Ulysses, likely still drawing on the energies of the Bloodgem, rose again and sought out the Exo-Mind. Bloodstone managed to project his essence onto the form, and by sheer psychic strength to shatter the shields of the Exo-Mind, and to destroy (or temporarily interrupt) the Hellfire Helix. Bloodstone then finally died, the crystalline form was destroyed, and the Exo-Mind was temporarily dispersed. Four of the Bloodstone fragments were taken by unknown individuals and stowed away across the Earth. Years later, Helmut Zemo sought the power of the Bloodgem to resurrect his father, Heinrich. Zemo gathered Batroc, Machete, and Zaran to assist him, as well as the psychic, Tristam Micawber. The villains located the Conspiracy's altar and found the skeleton of Ulysses, his Bloodstone fragment reattaching itself to his chest. Taking his skull, Micawber used it as a compass to locate the other fragments across the planet. Their efforts were opposed by Captain America and Diamondback , although they ultimately succeeded. However, when Zemo affixed the reformed Bloodgem to the corpse of his father, the Exo-Mind regained consciousness and controlled the corpse of Heinrich Zemo for itself. The Exo-Mind attacked all involved in the hunt and planned to renew its plot to consume all life on Earth, but Crossbones (Hired by Red Skull, who was also seeking the Bloodgem) shattered the Bloodgem once more by firing a crossbolt into the gem, affixed to Zemo's skull. The corpse and the gem both fell into an active volcano. Ulysses's estranged daughter Elsa would arrive in her father's Boston estate to settle his affairs following the news of his death. It was there that she encountered her father's monster companion Adam, who gifted Elsa with a secret fifth fragment of the Bloodgem. Worn in a necklace choker, Elsa continues her father's legacy as a monster hunter, but whether or not the Exo-Mind lives on in her fragment remains unclear. | Powers = | Abilities = | Strength = | Weaknesses = | Equipment = | Transportation = | Weapons = | Notes = | Trivia = | Marvel = | Wikipedia = | Links = }}